..If only things could stay like this….forever..

Some believe, to live in darkness is to live in pain.

...It's scary...to think of what it would be like without you guys..

That all darkness brings is death and destruction.

...Who..am I?...What am I here for?..

Light was supposed to be the solace, it was the heaven undeserved.

….You really think the truth is going to make you feel better?...It won't..

It was to be protected. Those who bathed in its warmth were the heros to banish the darkness once and for all. The side you chose was the side you lived by.

..I'm going to wreck everything...what's the right thing to do?..

But for those of us caught between the cracks of light and dark, there was never really an option.

...if there is something in there...inside of us...we'd feel it, wouldn't we?..

I've lived in the light, only to end my story in this inky dark abyss where no light could ever possibly reach me.

...I'm on the verge of losing everything I cared about..

The silence is deafening…

...It was my choice...to go away now..

but at least...it's quiet.

...It was my...choice..

...Better that...than to do nothing..

Bright blinding light flooded her vision, and she sharply inhaled. Where was she? What was going on? She couldn't make out what she was seeing; only odd shapes and muted colors. A loud ringing screamed in her ear and her nose was invaded with the sterile scent of silicone. Her naked skin seemed ablaze from contact with whatever hard surface she was laying on combined with an intense itchy sensation from whatever was draped over her. It all felt almost agonizing, for some reason all of her senses were on overdrive when she shouldn't have been feeling anything at all. Didn't she just die? She remembered all too well the feeling of being impaled on her friends blade. She remembered his voice pleading for her to stop. She remembered the anguish on his face. She remembered how sorry she was to ever let it get far enough to have to involve him.

"Mh…wha..hn…" She could barely manage. In her death all of her weight bit by bit disappeared as she dissolved in her friends arms. She was truly free in that moment, but now her body weighed heavy as if she were submerged in water or hit with a gravity spell. Had her "soul" been pulled back into her body? Does she even have one of those? If she did there was no body to even be pulled back into given how it fell apart in Roxas' hands. What was going on?

"Ah, finally awake. Hello...or rather, welcome back." A voice greeted her, but it didn't at all sound inviting.

Her vision was finally starting to clear and the ringing subsided to a tolerable level. She slowly moved her head towards the voice and met eyes with someone she hadn't seen in a very long time.

Vexen smiled upon his creation, though to doubt his expertise was a fools mistake. It was true that he couldn't remember creating her until combing through research he himself couldn't recall existed. However, the reports were clearly marked with meticulous detail and craftsmanship that he prides himself upon. Even without even knowing fully WHAT was being reconstructed, he had no trouble managing it. This, along with the revival of the other replica, only proved once again that his cunning knowledge is only second to Xehanort himself. And maybe...not even him. Vexen mused.

"Number 14. At least, that's what you were before. We didn't really get a chance to formally meet. Unfortunately I couldn't be around as long as I'd have liked." Vexen crossed his arms and touched his temple. He gave an annoyed sigh. "Thankfully the arsonist won't be such a bother now." His emphasis had some anger behind it.

"Arsonist"? Is he talking about Axel? She wondered. Where was Axel? Where was she? How was Vexen standing there before her when everyone was told he-along with others-perished in castle oblivion?

"Vexen." Another voice spoke, this one stern and emotionless. It directly contrasted with the slightly amused and arrogant tone Vexen exuded. Despite its monotonous cadence it was able to suck all of the air out of the room. "Now is not the time to fraternize. We're already behind schedule."

Siax…Xion thought. It was all she could do to not panic right then and there, not like her body was all that mobile in that moment. Whatever thought she had about dying and being free and helping Sora was wrong. Somehow, the organization was able to stop her from escaping her fate with Roxas. She let herself loose, she forced Roxas to put an end to her. It was supposed to be an end to the entirety of Xemnas' plan for them both, but someway they managed to supersede that and bring her back to the castle. Where was Roxas now? Was he safe? Was he waiting at the clocktower for her, just to enter into the same battle she refuses to win? Was this fail safe of bringing her back going to occur every time she lost? Was this "hell"?

"Yes well, that isn't exactly my fault it is it? If you had followed through as you were supposed too there would have been no need to revive no.i to begin with." Vexen turned from Siax and updated his report. But once again you all seem to prove yourselves incompetent of handling even the simplest of tasks. I have yet to see how this attempt will be any different with the return of such failures like no.9, Xehanort really has no standards these days with who his chosen are.He thought to himself. After finishing updating his log he turned to Siax. "I have a few more tests to run if Xehanort wants It to be at Its best, I ask you to not be here for them. We don't need It impeded by..." Vexen gestured to Siax dismissively, "pointless disruptions."

Siax narrowed his eyes in response. "I see. I will take my leave then." He turned towards the doorway. "I wouldn't want to give you any more excuses to disappoint." Siax retorted before exiting.

Vexen merely scoffed and returned his attention to Xion.

"Now, where were we?"

Xion tried her best to soak up all of what was transpiring. She was well aware of the type of people she was dealing with. The less questions she asked, the better. Still, the existential horror of what could potentially be a looping reality threatened her already fragile state of mind. She could NOT go through it all again. She refused to allow herself to cause any more hurt.

"Wh….Wher…..Where's-" She could barely manage. Vexen dismissed her attempts entirely.

"It will take you some time to recover your strength so save whatever inquiries you have for your meeting with Xehanort."

There was that name again. Xehanort. Why did it sound so familiar to her? She tried her best but could not recall anything. Xion rested her head back down on the metal table she laid upon, still in a daze only very slowly feeling less and less sluggish. It was like her first weeks of life all over again. It really is starting all over.She dreaded.

Vexen ran a series of small tests with her, testing her ability to control her "new body" as well as her physical and cognitive reactions to various stimuli. She was stuck in there all right, they managed to successfully force her consciousness back into a new form. Though she felt a little different from how she felt before. It was hard to describe but something about herself just felt a little more...alive? cohesive? synergized? She wasn't sure how to describe it but she knew that before there was more or less a slight numbness to life. Maybe because she was one of the first and only replicas to actually be completed-or so she read-her old body wasn't as polished as this one? She didn't like thinking of herself that way but as Vexen was droning on about "perfection" and being "indistinguishable from human" Xion couldn't help but notice. The notices weren't super distinguishable to her however, so maybe Vexen was merely projecting his own ego.

What felt like almost an hour had passed before Vexen completed his testing. Xion was sitting up-right now with the previously irritating white sheet draped around her shoulders as her only cover. She stared down at her feet hanging off the side of the operating table. During the tests she had some other realizations about the new body she inhabited, namely, she was taller. She wasn't just taller, but she was clearly very much older as well. She couldn't have been too much older, but the growth was significant enough to notice when she was made to stand. Why did they put her in an older body if it was going to be such a slight difference? Vexens chart listed her as the age of "16" as well as other arbitrary details she never heard of before like blood type. It even went on to record her new exact height. Maybe this all meant something to a scientist, but to Xion it felt like such a strange deviation from her old body that she had seemingly only a couple of hours ago. Why all of these weird changes? Did it have anything to do with being more human like? Why did it even matter? There was clearly more to this new form of hers than she knew, and it was all so confusing.

Xion looked up upon hearing heels click and saw Siax enter the lab once again with something folded under one of his arms.

"Are you finished now?" He asked.

"Yes, yes go ahead. I'm all finished with It for now." Vexen sighed, not caring to look his way. "Though, try not to break It this time with your carelessness hm?"

Siax ignored Vexens jab towards him, choosing to focus on Xion and he tossed her an all too familiar black coat. "Cover yourself up and follow me." Siax, not bothering to wait for her, turned and exited the lab.

She stared at the coat in her hands for a long time feeling the leathery fabric she had known all her life, the life she had HOPED to escape. This clearly wasn't the same one she used to wear, as it probably wouldn't have fit her new form but it might as well have been the same one to her. She gripped the coat tightly until her knuckles turned white. After all that had happened, after everything she had sacrificed, after the difficult choices she was forced to make she was sent back here. She was sent back to this moment where she first put on the coat that became her full identity and was first put on the path of pain and loss. Yet here they were, really expecting her to be willing to do it all again.

If they expect me to still be their mindlesspuppet after all of that they're sorely mistaken.I'll find Roxas and Axel, and we'll all escape this torment together. I'll do it right this time. No more hurt...No more hessitation...and no one ESPECIALLY not Xemnas will stand in my way.She thought to herself as she stood up and donned the coat once more.

Fin-

I hope you guys are intrigued so far. Basically I had this full AU for what was going on in the background of kh3 and remind as I was pretty disappointed with how Xions arc ended. They explained how she returned and it was nice to see her reunite with the rest of the seasalt crew but I felt Numora set up all these interesting plot ideas accidentally and they went left undone. But it inspired me and here we are. I was originally gonna make this chapter much longer but keeping them shorter will make it easy for me to write more consistently. I plan on taking FULL control of this idea and it won't just be a rehash of the end of kh3, it wouldn't be fanfiction if I didn't plan on jumping the shark ;). Anyway, hope you found this interesting and I would love any sort of feedback. Thanks!

~Toast